The business about needing ritual and blowing up when the ritual is not followed sounds rather like one of my friend's child. The child was diagnosed ASD and is now, following some very specific therapy and training, doing much better.

Thanks, Professor Cole. Once again we note how enemies come to resemble one another, revalatory perhaps of some underlying psychological truth.

Hie on over to MITWorld and watch this video of Greg Mitchell critiquing the press and their failure to adequately vet the US Gov's pre-invasion claims:

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/590/

My wife and I just saw this movie and we laughed our asses off. My advice to anyone reading these letters who hasn't seen the movie: just go and watch and laugh.

Forget that it is a Coen brothers movie with the baggage that brings. Just watch the movie. Trust me, whatever the Coens intended as dog-whistles for film buffs, you can watch it and enjoy the over-the-top performances and the goofy plot.

It's just a funny little movie.

Yes, of course. Right wing politicians lie because they could never be elected if they came somewhere close to telling the truth.

I wish the Dems were more explicit in pointing this out.

Palin's abysmal ignorance should be condemned by all hands. If McWarmonger felt compelled to have a right wing woman on the ticket, there are plenty of them out there who can have an intelligent discussion about national issues.

Palin simply cannot do it. She is horribly ignorant and we should all stop making excuses for her.

They need to get her off the ticket. The chance that she could be an old man's heartbeat away from the presidency should doom this scheme right then and there.

But the power of human bias is just too strong. We even see apologists here, straining to try to make excuses for this train wreck.

Get the hook. Palin is horrible.

The theocrats opened their money spigots when McClueless announced his veep choice. He is still having trouble raising as much money as Obama, but her presence on the ticket (predictably) has brought in a lot of cash.

Which makes McWarmonger a what?

What are the chances that Griffin actually thinks Martin is a pathetic weasel and is only using him because of his position as a faux-journalist?

If so, Martin's insticts are far less robust than, say, Tarzan's.

A friend forwarded me an email she got from a right wing acquaintance. Apparently this email is making the rounds. Let anyone with a strong enough stomach watch Hannity at 9 PM EST (It is 5:11 pm Pacific as I type this, the show will be on at 6 PM here) and report.

Email says:

Subject: FOX NEWS, IS GOING TO AIR ....10/12/08

HELLO EVERYONE:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!! Sunday 10/12/08@9pm

SEAN HANNITY, OF HANNITY & COLMES ~ FOX NEWS,

IS GOING TO AIR A VERY IMPORTANT DOCUMENTARY ABOUT BARACK OBAMA, SUNDAY NIGHT AT 9:00 PM.

HE STATED ON THE AIR THIS EVENING THAT NO ONE IN THE NEWS MEDIA WAS WILLING TO DO THIS.

HANNITY IS GOING BACK TO OBAMA'S EARLIER DAYS, SHOWING EVEN THEN HIS TIES TO RADICAL PROFESSORS, FRIENDS, SPIRITUAL ADVISERS, Etc.,

HE STATED THIS EVENING THAT HE WILL SHOW IN DETAIL HIS TIES TO REV. WRIGHT FOR 20+ YRS (which we all know) HOW HE WAS PARTICIPATING WITH THIS MAN, AND NOT FOR THE REASONS HE STATES! HE HAS UNCOVERED MORE OF OBAMA'S RADICAL LEADERS AND WE WILL SEE THINGS THAT NO ONE IN THE MEDIA IS WILLING TO PUT OUT THERE.

THIS WILL BE A NIGHT THAT YOU WILL KNOW MORE ABOUT OBAMA THAN EVER BEFORE. HANNITY IS VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM AND ASKED THAT EVERYONE PLEASE, PLEASE WATCH~~ SUNDAY NIGHT, 9 PM.

HANNITY IS DETERMINED THIS INFORMATION BE PUT OUT THERE BECAUSE AS AMERICAN'S, WE STILL DO NOT KNOW ABOUT OBAMA!! WAKE UP AMERICA !! THIS IS SERIOUS,

EVERYONE. I KNOW MOST OF YOU WATCH FOX NEWS, AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE VOTING FOR,

BUT IF YOU CAN, PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

THIS IS CRITICAL FOR OUR COUNTRY. MY PRAYER IS THAT WE, ALONG WITH SEAN HANNITY, WILL REACH SOMEONE/ANYONE BEFORE NOV. 4th.

Wow.

Effect: Obama rises in the polls.

Cause: The bankruptcy of right wing economics becomes apparent to middle America.

In regards to Baldie vs heru -

I tend to agree more often with Baldie than with heru, but Baldie, did you perhaps read a bit hastily?

I was intrigued by the claim that heru had said that ONLY Americans hate the other. I was skeptical that anyone would say that, because it is so obviously wrong.

No one could possibly claim that only Americans "hate the other."

So I looked through Heru's letters and this seems to be the one that is getting McFeather's feathers ruffled:

Americans have always had some "other" to hate. The natives, England, blacks, Japanese or whatever. We hate "liberals", "conservatives", "libertarians", "moderates", or whatever.

Americans need some group to hate; and for God's sake don't confuse Americans with facts about the "other" as it is much easier to hate as long as we believe the myths.

Read carefully, because heru did not say "Only Americans...".

Americans hating others can be true at the same time that, say, Germans or Russians or South Ossetians (or anyone else) can hate 'the other'.

If I say "Black always falls on the dark side of the color scale" does that mean that ONLY black falls on the dark side of the color scale?